Chicago Bears: 10 bold predictions following Khalil Mack trade

Ryan Pace acquires a minimum two additional draft picks

Pace is in his fourth year as the big man on campus for the Bears. In that time, he has taken his fair share of gambles. What we’re seeing in his fourth offseason, though, is a young general manager who has learned and developed strategies that allow him to take big-time risks — risks that pay off.

Sure, Pace has made some bonehead decisions. But, he’s a young general manager. I will give him a pass on last year’s free agency haul. Why? Well, just take a look at what he was able to do this year. He’s not sitting on his hands — he’s never been one to do that.

Speaking of not sitting on his hands, Pace has been known to wheel and deal during the draft. He’s traded up multiple times, for both Floyd and Mitchell Trubisky, most notably. This year, he traded up to get Anthony Miller.

Trading away the first-round picks for Mack was not only necessary, but franchise-altering. Will Pace be able to re-acquire first-rounders? That’s highly doubtful. But, what I would bet he does is acquire additional picks in the later rounds.

He has proven he has the ability to draft well in the second round. He has proven he has the ability to draft well in all later rounds, for that matter. Guys like Jordan Howard, Adrian Amos, Tarik Cohen, etc. have all been found in the fourth round or later. I would be willing to bet that somehow, some way, Pace gets his hands on at least a pair of picks in the coming drafts to at least be able to bring in additional players. Which round those picks are in, though, doesn’t really matter much.

He’s proven he can find talent anywhere.